• 1937 ~ Benny Goodman and his orchestra recorded “Sugar Foot Stomp” on Victor Records. The tune was a Fletcher Henderson arrangement.

• 1944 ~ Roger Waters, Musician: bass, songwriter with Pink Floyd

• 1948 ~ Claydes (Charles) Smith, Guitarist with Kool & The Gang

• 1954 ~ Banner Thomas, Bass with Molly Hatchet

• 1958 ~ Georgia Gibbs sang “The Hula-Hoop Song” on “The Ed Sullivan Show”. It was the first national exposure for the Hula-Hoop craze. Many people recorded the song to capitalize on the fad, including Teresa Brewer and Betty Johnson. Like sometimes happens with fads, these songs didn’t become very popular. The Hula-Hoop craze lasted a bit longer…

• 1961 ~ Paul Waaktaar, Guitarist, singer with a-ha

• 1975 ~ Glen Campbell hit #1 on the “Billboard” pop music chart with “Rhinestone Cowboy”. It had reached the top position on the country chart on August 23rd.

• 1976 ~ Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were reunited by Frank Sinatra – after 20 years of going their separate ways. The former comedy team warmly met each other again during a surprise visit by Martin to Lewis’s annual “Labor Day Telethon” for Muscular Dystrophy.

• 1984 ~ Country-music star Ernest Tubb died this day, at the age of 70. Tubb was from Crisp, Texas and was known as the ‘Texas Troubadour’. He patterned his unique style after Jimmie Rodgers. Tubb recorded “I’m Walking the Floor Over You” and sold more than three million copies of the tune. “Blue Christmas”, “I Love You Because”, “Missing In Action” and “Thanks a Lot” were also classics made famous by Tubb. Other recording artists as diverse as The Andrews Sisters, Loretta Lynn and Red Foley recorded with Tubb. His 1979 album, “The Legend and the Legacy”, was a top-ten hit. Tubb was a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1943 and was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1965.

• 1984 ~ Ginger Rogers was in Buffalo, NY for a homecoming at Shea’s Theatre. The star of so many great motion pictures, Rogers had played the Shea 55 years earlier.

• 1986 ~ Bananarama hit the top spot on the pop music charts with “Venus”. The tune had also been a number one hit for the Dutch group, The Shocking Blue (2/07/70).

• 1997 ~ The Westminster Abbey funeral for Diana, Princess of Wales, was an extraordinary event, marked by numerous poignant moments: The people sobbing and throwing flowers at the funeral cortege winding through the streets of London. Her sons, walking behind her casket with their heads bowed. And Diana’s brother, who during his funeral oration took aim at the media, who he said made the princess “the most hunted person of the modern age.” Elton John sang a rewritten version of “Candle in the Wind” to “England’s rose”. The song was originally a tribute to film legend Marilyn Monroe, whose own tragic life, like Diana’s, ended at the age of just 36.

• 2002 ~ Rafael Druian, a violinist and conductor who served as concertmaster of four American orchestras, died at the age of 80. Druian’s lengthy career spanned many roles – performer, conductor and teacher. He was the concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Born in Vologda, Russia, Druian grew up in Havana, Cuba and began his musical training at an early age. He came to Philadelphia when he was 10 to audition for Leopold Stokowski, who recommended him for a scholarship at the Curtis School of Music. He graduated from Curtis in 1942 and served in the United States Army for four years and played in the army band. During his career, Druian appeared on some groundbreaking recordings of lesser-known violin works. In the 1950s he made recordings of Block, Janácek and Enesco. After working with orchestras around the country, his final concertmaster position was at the Philharmonic from 1971 to 1974. When he finished there he taught at Boston University and the Curtis Institute of Music.

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The O'Connor Music Studio features fully functional parent/student portals. These are a great way to share information with you, save time, and add value to your lessons. The student portal provides you with...

I have ordered this book and CD combo for the music studio so parents can check it out to see if it would be useful for them to buy for home use. If any of the studio parents have this book already, please let me know what you think. Thanks! My copy came today and it looks fantastic. I am considering ordering some for the studio for parents. The list price i […]

O’Connor Music Studio provides Fairfax-area piano students with high-quality instruction tailored to suit individual needs and learning styles. The dedicated instructor brings over 40 years of teaching experience to every lesson.

With this concert-worthy duet setting of "Happy Birthday to You," pianists will delight audiences with inventive variations of the familiar tune. Some sections are driving and rhythmic, while others are inspired by Classical and Romantic styles. Powerful chords and brilliant octave passages create thrilling musical moments. Audiences will enjoy a n […]

From Day 4, Daily Listening Assignment ~ June 4. In 1778 at the age of twenty-two, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed a set of twelve variations on the theme “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman” (better known to us as the nursery rhyme “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”) for the piano.

Facts and trivia abound in this gentle expose of music history. From Bach's laundry lists to Handel's unexpected success in Italy, this provides a lively, involving format which treats musicians as human beings and which reads almost like an action novel in exploring their lives and approaches to music and its marketing.

There is no better way to introduce children to classical music than with Prokofiev’s musical fairy tale of the little boy (played by all the strings of the orchestra) who, with the help of a bird (played by the flute), outsmarted the big, bad wolf (played by the French horns). And now with this book and CD package, children can look and listen all at the sa […]

I have always respected Dr. Hinson's work and his music. We have several of his books at the O'Connor Music Studio and many are available for loan. If you are interested in buying any for yourself, amazon.com has a great selection.

Intermediate students are ready to explore the challenges of one-octave scales and arpeggios. More than a simple reference to scale fingerings and key signatures, this book presents valuable patterns that engage the ear and give musical meaning to scale degrees. By transposing these patterns and common chord progressions, students gain deep understanding in […]

Playing 5-finger scales has significant value for early-level pianists. This innovative book helps students chart progress through all major and minor 5-finger scales, cross-hand arpeggios, and primary chords. Engaging teacher duets for each key are used for scale exercises. Students also enjoy improvisation activities for each key with creative prompts to i […]

Looking for a fun and interesting way to get beginner pianists excited about music? Want a unique way to present music theory, sight reading, and writing notes? Wish it was all in one spot? Introducing Piano Cards: Level 1, a premium flashcard deck that helps students understand music and retain what they've learned. Our 28 progressive test cards build […]

Do you need help getting your kids to the keyboard? 101 Piano Practice Tips is an upbeat book full of practical tips to help your kids actually WANT to practice the piano. If you have elementary age children, you’ll appreciate categories such as “Creating a Great Environment” and “How to Encourage Good Quality Practice.” If you’re the parent of a teenager, y […]

Just what the titles says: 60 one-page quizzes on a variety of subjects related to beginning music theory and reading. Includes sections on "The Basics," "Rhythm," "Note Names," "Key Signatures," "Musical Symbols and Terms," "Time Signatures," "Keyboard Identification," and "Musical P […]

Tap dancing legends Fayard (b. 1914) and Harold (1918-2000) Nicholas amazed crowds with their performances in musicals and films from the 30s to the 80s. They performed with Gene Kelly in The Pirate, with Cab Calloway in Stormy Weather, with Dorothy Dandridge (Harold's wife) in Sun Valley Serenade, and with a number of other stars on the stage and on th […]

Carl Czerny, a student of Ludwig van Beethoven, who then taught Franz Liszt, combined his ability to analyze technique with his years of teaching experience to create exercises that increase the technical ability of the piano student. In this 80-page edition, his pieces systematically introduce notes of various time-values and other musical principles in sim […]

Self-expression knows no bounds with C920. Piano lessons on Skype or FaceTime in full HD 1080p or record vibrant true-to-life full HD 1080p video blogs. You can share, play your lessons live or record and share in high-definition 720p. Dual microphones ensure natural stereo sound, while a five-element glass lens and a precisely tuned autofocus allow you to b […]

Not content with having hilariously skewered the lives of great composers in Bach, Beethoven and the Boys, in If It Ain't Baroque musical humorist David W. Barber takes aim at their works as well. From symphonies to solo songs, from motets to madrigals to masses, Barber wittily yet informatively tells readers everything they need to know (and more!) abo […]